Stumbling Feet
by Maurever
Summary: For one moment - one stupid, perfect moment, fragile as a soap-bubble - he let his guard drop, forgot or remembered who he was and was just - happy. And how he hates himself for it.


_A/N: Envy x Rose, slightly AU. I love this pairing and was always extremely frustrated that the only fic I could find for it was a French PWP that made VERY LITTLE sense through Google Translate, so… here's a little contribution. Please let me know if it's terrible. _

_Set around the episode where Ed goes to Dante's lair - 40-something, I think - so you could consider this end-of-the-series spoilers. _

_And last - favoriting without reviewing is like giving someone a present in a locked box and then walking away silently... so silently... *sniff* Don't get me wrong, I love favorites too, but reviews really make my day. Make my day, please?_

_Disclaimer: Come on, copyright-people! I'm sick, my head is cold, my sinuses ache and you're going to depress me further by making me admit I don't own FMA? Jerks. *sigh* Me no own. You no prosecute. 'Kay?_

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><p>Envy sullenly stared at the sleeping child he was forced to hold as Dante instructed Rose in a sugary-sweet voice.<p>

"Go out there and dance a little, my dear."

"Without a partner?" The girl's voice was puzzled and slow as she attempted to think through Dante's control.

"Only for a minute. Close your eyes - then open them after a little while. The first person you see will be your partner."

Rose nodded obediently, walking out to the middle of the floor before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and beginning to slowly twirl. Dante nodded in satisfaction, taking the child back from Envy and stepping into the shadows behind a large molding. The homunculus began to withdraw as well, but hesitated.

The girl had picked up pace now, twirling and sideways-skipping across the floor, his eyes closed and a slight smile on her lips as if she were caught up in music only she could hear. The dress Dante had given her rumpled unattractively as she moved her arms and clung to her legs as she spun, and Envy frowned; even as hostile towards humans as he was (and he wasn't one, not anymore) he had an appreciation for beauty, and Rose's natural charm was muffled and half-stifled in Dante's musty fashions of yesteryear. What's more… it gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, of the years melting away and disappearing until he was eighteen again, human again, before he had become the monster he was now.

He lingered in the shadow, out of sight of the doorway where the pipsqueak would enter, and indulged in another look. Now the girl's steps were slowing; her eyes were beginning to open; he could tell by her pace and rate of turning that her eyes would land on the boy who now stood by the door out of his sight, and so watched without fear of discovery.

Dante's shoes were still a little loose on Rose's small feet, and at the crucial moment - eyes fully opening, slowing to a halt - one slipped, and with a small noise of surprise the girl stumbled; recovering, she had passed another half-turn, and Envy's eyes widened as she looked straight at him.

The smile on her lips grew a little more confident, and she came towards him; the homunculus found himself frozen to the spot as Dante hissed angrily from behind him "Disguise yourself, you fool!" and as the hands of the girl dressed in the past met his a change that seemed the only logical choice rippled over him, as he dropped all disguise.

Rose walked backwards and he moved with her, his mind still in shock; she smiled warmly at him, apparently not minding or noticing his change, and brought one of his hands to her waist, keeping the other in her hand. It had been three hundred years and more but his body somehow remembered as he assumed the familiar position, Rose guiding him gently and silently. He licked his suddenly dry lips, breathing coming fast with nervousness; out of somewhere at the back of his mind he could feel Dante's angry and the Fullmetal's shocked eyes on them, but they were not sufficient to link him to the here and now.

Half-easy, half-stumbling moves as they learnt each other's steps, both of them silent as their feet began to weave patterns together, but Envy - or was he William again? - thought with a kind of scared clarity that he could almost hear music. This was wrong, this was all wrong; he was Envy, he was a monster, he never should have returned to his original form; he felt vulnerable, almost terrified of his quiet partner, naked to the eyes of the world. The others were staring at him, horror and disapproval burning against his skin…

Rose raised her eyes to his, a slightly puzzled expression crossing her face; it was as if she could sense his distress. Envy felt his stomach clench at the sympathetic worry in her look as she took her hand from his, leaving him to put both hands awkwardly on her waist. What was she - His breath caught in his throat as she cupped his cheek, stroking the smooth skin with her thumb; haltingly, her mouth formed words.

"You're… a good dancer…"

And against his every darker instinct Envy felt a ridiculous smile curve his lips at the compliment, a warm feeling exploding inside him. Rose gasped and then laughed as he suddenly twirled her, and for a moment he was William again and they were both very human and she was breathing hard, smiling at him as they came to a stop… He leant closer, letting her weight rest easily in his arms as he bent her back, her gentle eyes lighting with a flicker of fire for a moment as their faces almost touched. He could feel her breath quicken on her lips, and felt something flutter at the pit of his stomach as he slipped a hand into her hair, tilting her head to a better angle as he leant in all the way…

Slow, loud clapping resonated through the room as the double doors slammed shut. Envy jumped, a shock resonating through him as the here and now reclaimed their power, and he quickly pushed Rose away; Dante stepped out of the shadows, applauding mockingly.

"Excellent work with such an… improvisation at our distraction for the Fullmetal, Envy," she said. Her voice was poisonously sweet, and her eyes glittered with dark anger. "Bring the girl here."

The Fullmetal gave a cry of anger as Envy quickly morphed back to his familiar form. "It's just as I thought!" he yelled. "Dante! You've taken Lyra's body!"

Envy didn't hear the rest of their exchange. Still breathing too quickly, he grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her over to Dante, making no effort to be gentle. How could she - He was still shaking inwardly from how unshielded he had been, for just a few moments. Because of one stupid human girl and a ridiculous old dance.

He tries not to look at her.

He isn't going to risk it again.


End file.
